glenn: hey, tomorrow a special on the future of healthcare. you will not see this information anywhere else. from new york, we'll see you tomorrow. good night, america! [captioning made possible by fox news channel] captioned by the national captioning institute ---www.ncicap.org--- bret: on "special report" the speaker of house calling a shouting dissent on americans. seniors have plenty of de dissent over the aarp over its endorsement of the current reform plan and the president spends the day in mexico not far from the region ruled in part by a brutal drug cartel and asthma reasons fight the taliban in afghanistan, the u.s. commander says the taliban is winning. all that, plus the fox news all-stars, right here, right now. from washington, i'm bret baier. the top two democrats in the house of representatives today

poured fuel on the fire over the hot tempered reaction to healthcare reform in many members' town hall sessions this month. carl cameron calls on the democrats' efforts to neutralize the critics. >> as democrats continued their orchestrated nationwide blitz of pro-healthcare town hall reform meetings, some tried to put down opponents in advance. >> raise your hand if you are so mad about the idea of federal healthcare reform you can't even think straight? proud and determined, healthcare reform opponents are turning out nationwide despite being branded thugs and a mob by democratic leaders. >> i believe that this so-called mob that some of us are being a part of, speaking out this tyrannical administration is the absolute essence of american freedom and democracy. >> democrats have denounced healthcare reform opponents as, quote, astroturf, meaning

artificial gas roots organized by special interests are, but some of that has always been politics as usual. >> it has not been manufactured now, but i think both sides are organizing. that's what we do in a democracy. >> nancy pelosi and steny hoyer this morning in a u.s.a. op ed said "these disare up shons are occurring because they are afraid of differing views and the facts themselves. drowning out opposing views is simply unamerican, and drowning out the facts is how we failed at this task for decades. " for its fact, democrats are are the healthcare reform organizer and unveiled a website to help supporters combat the opposition. are republicans decried the extreme rhetoric on both sides, but democrats have exploited the incidents to distract the public from the flaws in their reform policies. >> to demonize citizens who are energetic about this strikes me as demonstrating a kind of weakness in your

position. in other words, you want to change the subject, or would rather talk about the half trillion dollar medicare cuts and talk about somebody at some town hall meeting that misbehaved. that's missing the point. >> at an afternoon event things got more boisterous for mccaskill. >> this is about taking power and control in this administration than it is about healthcare. >> mccaskill at one point called her critics rude and suggested they may have forgotten their missouri manners but for the most part she kept her cool. onboard air force i this afternoon, the aides to the president were asked if the president believed that the disruptions were unamerican, and an aide said the president believes that boisterous vocal dissent is very much part of the american democratic process. bret: carl, thanks. president obama says he expects vigorous debate on healthcare will continue. he did not specifically refer to the town hall meetings during a news conference with north american leaders in mexico, but said critics point

to canada's government-run system. >> i suspect that canadians will continue to get dragged in by those who oppose reform, even though i have said nothing about canadian healthcare reform. i don't find canadians particularly scary, but i guess some of the opponents of reform think that they make a good bogeyman. bret: major garrett will have more on the president's trip a little later. dissatisfaction with the president's healthcare reform proposals has created something of a public relations nightmare for the nation's largest group of people over 50. correspondent shannon bream reports on the rebel onwithin the aarp. >> elected officials are not the only ones facing frustrated angry crowds at town hol meetings. this was in dallas last week at a forum put together by the aarp. >> you're not really runing the meeting, sir, so i'm going to continue.

>> some aarp members say they're outraged at what they perceive as the organization's support of the president's plan for healthcare reform, so much so that they've taking to tearen up their membership cards and firing off heated letters to the organization's c.e.o. ease sent polling shows that seniors on medicare don't want a major overhaul. 93% ate their current coverage as good or excellent, and 56% say they oppose a change in health insurance and 53% say they oppose the backlash. >> we get people very upset every day about this bill and about the aarp supporting it, so i don't blame them for coming back and saying that they're going to tear up their aarp cards. >> the aarp did host a discussion with president obama last month, but officials say the group is non-partisan and has not endorsed any overall legislative measure, but concedes that there are

specific provisions that the organization has backed. >> aarp is working with leaders in both parties, those in congress and also the administration, working with other groups, including employers, including small business owners, and organized labor. >> aarp says the organization is used to being attacked by both the right and the left. where is the bipartisan criticism as a badge of honor? aarp critics say they aren't buying the diplomatic explanation. >> the aarp has spoken out of both sides of their mouth and is telling their constituents or their members one thing and do another. >> despite the tension, aarp will continue to hold town halls. >> it's really important to ratchet down the tension, make sure that you're getting a debate based on the actual facts, not based on the things that some folks want you to believe. >> and the aarp announced today that it is launching a multi-million dollar national ad campaign to combat what it says are the myths being used to frighten and mislead older

americans. bret: shannon, thank you. researchers at emory university in atlanta have begun testing a vaccine against the h1n1 virus, previously known as the swine flu. they plan to roughly inject 25 volunteers every day for the next 20 days, and emory university is among eight research institutions around the country defendanting the vaccine. experts are bracing for a resurgence of of the h1n1 flu this fall. the g.d.p. only dropped a tenth of a percent in july, but does that mean the obama administration is creating jobs? >> here is the problem, only $100 billion of the $800 billion stimulus package is already out the door, so it's hard to estimate the impact on jobs, but throw out $100 billion into the economy, and it will have some impact. the council of economic advisors estimated that the

stimulus plan saved about 485,000 jobs in the second quarter. economy.com, independent economists basically agree with that number, about 500,000, but as we look at actual jobs report, you can see in local government, a lot of money has already gone to state and local government, and local governments added 255,000 jobs in may, june and july. we can quantify that. we can't quantify exactly how much private sector job stimulation has been created by the package. bret: i mentioned the unemployment numbers coming out on friday. another development happened friday that we're just learning today about the debt ceiling. >> a little letter that got up to the hill friday, got up under the radar here. the treasury secretary asking the congress to raise the debt ceiling. it -- congress just did this in february in the stimulus bill, to $12.1 trillion from about $11.4, and because of all the stimulus spending and everything else, we're already about $400 billion away from

maxing out our national credit card here, so the treasury department is sending a letter up asking congress to act on this soon. we had a $200 billion deficit almost in july. we have august and september left in the fiscal year. you can see how we can bump up real soon. congress is going to have to raise the national debt by another trillion or two sometime in the next month. bret: we don't know the number yet. >> we don't know the number yet. the treasury said it will negotiate that with congress. bret: thank you. >> oil futures fell below the $71 a barrel mark today. september crude lost 33 cents to settle at $70.60. gasoline is averaging $2.64 1/2 cents a gallon, up 2/10's of a cent overnight and almost ten cents a gallon in the last week. stocks began the week on a down note. the dow lost 32 and change. s&p 500 dropped 3 1/2 and nasdaq gave back 8. a house plan to get more jets for congressional travel is taking heavy fire, and what is the u.s. plan for the

political conflict in honduras? president obama gets testy. my doctor told me something i never knew. as we get older, our bodies become... less able to absorb calcium. he recommended citracal. it's a different kind of calcium. calcium citrate. with vitamin d... for unsurpassed absorption, to nourish your bones.

bret: as we told you a few moments ago, president obama spent much of the day in guadalahara where he met with his counterparts from mexico and canada, but it was a question about another country asked of another leader that had mr. obama chafing. major garrett is traveling with the president. >> the same critics who say that the united states has not intervened enough in honduras are the same people who say that we're always intervening and yankees need to get out of latin america. you can't have it both ways. >> the ousting of honduran president zelaya no longer grabs headlines but attacks on the obama white house for failing to push hard forehis return warchgeled president obama during his post- mexican conference with president calderon and

canadian prime minister steven harper. president obama called it a coo and wanted his return to power but call but called for less intervention. >> there is a call for american relations to come in but that won't guide my policies. >> zelaya has failed to enter honduras. the new president says it was constitutional and he will never regain power. president harper lent a hand to the president. >> if i were in america, i would be tired of this hypocrisy. >> they are tired of meddling in mexico's drug war, and all posed together while calderon defended arm army tactics against drug cartels, as the united states has withheld millions in aid over human

rights concerns. >> we are fighting against organized crime. it is to preserve the human rights of the american people, rights to safety and security. >> all three nations pledged to cooperate and communicate, though all predict it will be a difficult flu season with the h1n1 virus first detected after mr. obama's april visit. in guadalahara, authorities hand out surgical masks from these tables at the airport and sanitizers are almost everywhere. mexico has sought 20,000 doses and has a stockpile of 2,00,000 doses of tamiflu. >> it has transcended borders and we need more response. >> the mexican government is still enraged that its trucks cannot carry cargo into the united states and the canadians are furious over the buy american provisions in the stimulus has shut them out of infrastructure projects.

these disputes and the anker this they generate remain. bret: majoring thank you. to the southeast of guadalahara is a state where drug violence is being dominated by an unusual organization. steve harrigan has the story of "the family." >> it is a neighborhood war in mexico, where the battlefields go house to house, children run, women cry, and just when speculation begins that the democracy could lose the battle with drug cartels -- >> they're up against incredibly powerful and wealthy and ruthless enemies. >> enter a new one. the family, la familia, weirder and more dangerous than anything that has come before, a fusion of technology and medieval violence. >> they cut off heads, and they cut heads off and throw it in the middle of a dancing

floor in a disco. there is, you know, just series of massacres that have been taking place. >> the family does more than cut off heads and sell crystal meth. they kill policemen, 12 last month. tortured and lined up on a highway. the family wants to run are the state, and the government, even with a surge of thousands of soldiers, is having trouble stopping them. ten may yours have been arrested here.two have been ass. basically the drug cartels are giving a choice to mexican officials here -- take our money and work with us or we'll kill you. 10,000 people have been killed in 18 months in the drug war here, a figure that is worse of combined totals in afghanistan and iraq in the same period. it gets little attention even as violence bleeds across the border. the perp walks here are none

too gentle but maybe that's because every police officer and soldier is well aware that even after capture in mexico, the struggle between the bad guys and the good guys may not be over. steve harrigan, fox news. >> secretary of state hillary clinton became upset today during her visit to the congo. a translator for a university student at a town hall event asked mrs. clinton what her husband thinks of an inter national financial matter. >> you want me to tell you what my husband thinks? my husband is not the secretary of state. i am. if you ask my opinion, i will tell you my opinion. i won't be channeling my husband. bret: we are told the translator made the mistake here and the student actually asked for president obama's opinion. we will get the opinions of several people involved with the offshoot of the cash for clunkers program targeting another big-ticket item.

and the story from afghanistan is coming up. (announcer) illness doesn't care where you live... ...or if you're already sick... ...or if you lose your job. your health insurance shouldn't either. so let's fix health care. if everyone's covered, we can make health care as affordable as possible. and the words "pre-existing condition"

become a thing of the past... we're america's health insurance companies. supporting bipartisan reform that congress can build on. on the inside. my inner-workings a work of art. a digestive tract that should be bronzed. and an immune system so stunning... [ low growl ] my vet thinks i'm the eighth wonder of the world. [ female announcer ] introducing iams with prebiotics. prebiotics work inside, clinically proven to promote strong defenses. healthy inside... healthy outside. [ dog ] oh hi girls, nice day, huh? i am an iams dog. [ female announcer ] learn more about prebiotics at iams.com.

and we're walkin'... making it all a bit easier -- now that's progressive! call or click today. >> in news around the world, in southern taiwan, a mud slide resulting from a typhoon buried up to 600 people. so far, at least 14 people are chron firmed dead but that number is expected to rise. typhoon mordecai dumped almost 17 feet of rain in some communities over the weekend. saturday this three-story building collapsed into the floodwaters and was swept away. insurgents faced a series of bombings today in iraq, killing at least 42. the deadliest attack happened near mosul when two truck bombs exploded almost simultaneously almost 500 yards apart tearing through a small shiite village.

at least 25 died there. nine blasts rocked baghdad resulting in about 20 deaths. in of a afghanistan's southern province of helmand, the tall taliban has destroyed not only lives but entire towns. greg palkot reports from one such place. >> a few years ago, it was a bustling town of 10,000 plus, and now it is a ghost town because of the taliban in nowzad. the fighting in 2006 drove the people out. now, the u.s. marines are here. since may, the 300 americans are still staged there with taliban fighters all around. >> we have been up close, within 20 yards. >> 20 yards? >> yeah, we have had marines going through alleyways where there is someone with a loophole at the end of the alleyway shooting at them. >> two of captain martin's men have been killed so far, some

seriously wounded all by dangerous ied's or roadside bombs which the local taliban have planted throughout the area. that hasn't stopped companies from pushing out. they just set up this observation post close to the fighters. >> it doesn't get much more front line than this in afghanistan. we're told that the taliban could be as close as 100 yards from where we are, are just over those trees over there. we're told they could very well be watching us as we're standing here right now. >> these marines are fully exposed to the enemy all the time. they don't seem to mind. >> they're nervous here on the front line with the taliban, huh? >> no, they're not nervous. >> you're going to give it to them? >> i hope. >> the post has already had an effect, limiting the taliban's freedom of movement in the area. still, right now in the town, it is a very tense standoff with neither side daring a full-scale attack. it will take more u.s. resources and afghan forces and civilian support to rout

out the enemy and bring the people of nowzad home. captain martin is hopeful. >> they have told me that they won't let the taliban drive them out again. >> greg palkot, fox news. bret: pentagon officials are disputing a claim in the wall street journal that the taliban is winning in afghanistan. a spokesman characterized the interpretation of remarks from u.s. commander stanley mcchrystal as inaccurate and disappointing. the article did not quote mccrystal directly, however, a story in "u.s.a. today" did. the general said "i wouldn't say we are winning or losing or steal mated. " president obama plans to do only half as much to clean up toxic waste sites as president bush d will environmentalists go after him? and we'll meet the new focus of democratic spin.

taking its rightful place in a long line of amazing performance machines. this is the new e-coupe. this is mercedes-benz. boss: come on in, i had some other things you can tell people about geico - great claims service and a 97% customer satisfaction rate. show people really trust us. gecko: yeah right, that makes sense. boss: trust is key when talking about geico. you gotta feel it. why don't you and i practice that with a little exercise where i fall backwards and you catch me. gecko: uh no sir, honestly... uh...i don't think...uh... boss: no, no. we can do this. gecko: oh dear. vo: geico. fifteen minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance.

bret: now some fresh pickings from the political grapevine. the bush administration was criticized for not cleaning up of america's most toxic waste sites to suit many environmentalists but the associated press reports that the obama administration plans to do even less, and environmentalists are largely silent. the environmental protection agency estimates it will begin the final days of cleanup at

fewer superfund sites during president obama's first two years in office than in any administration since 1991. the e.p.a. expects to finish construction to remove the last traces of pollution at 20 sites this year, and 22 sites next year. during the eight years of the bush administration, the agency finished construction at an average of 38 sites per year. back in 2005, michigan democratic congressman john dingell said of george w. bush "the p president should explain to the american people why he is content to leave the public health at risk while toxic sites lay untreated in our communities for years. " updating a story we brought you last week, "the wall street journal" reports bipartisan opposition is emerging in the senate against the plan by house lawmakers to spend $550 million for eight jets. house lawmakers added two of those jets to the original air force request at an additional

cost to you of $132 million. lawmakers said the jets would be used to ferry members of congress and top government officials. the plan to upgade the fleet of government jets has also been criticized by pentagon officials who say the air force only really needs four new planes. missouri democrat chair mccaskill says, quote, the whole thing kind of makes me sick to my stomach. people get out of touch and spend money like it's monopoly money." john thune said "the funding for new planes is a classic example of congress being out of touch with the realities of deficit spending." other senators who oppose the plan include john mccain of arizona, kit bond of missouri and democrat jack reed of rhode island. now that sarah palin is no longer in office, some liberals have begun targeting another outspoken conservative woman, minnesota representative michelle bachman, perhaps the start of a bachman derangement

syndrome, republicans are trying to unseat her. democrats call her nuts and an utter embarrassment. and another said she is further to the right than a till la the hun and another writes "i shake my head that such a beautiful place would be represented by such an ugly individual as bachmann" and another writes "i think she probably frustrates them because she is able to win at any every time. " at least 15 states can take advantage of incentive programs to turn in their energy inefficient property for energy-saving models but anita vogel isn't talking about cars. the subject of her report is much cooler. >> call it the original cash for clunkers, but these obsolete energy hogs are coming out of people's kitchens, basements and

garages. >> thank you. >> before congress started rewarding americans for trading in their gas-guzzling cars, homeowners in southern california were turning in their old refrigerators and getting $50 back from the local power company. >> it works for me. it would have gone out to the front and somebody would have hauled it off or i can get $50 for having somebody else haul it off for me. >> that's not all. california edison has hauled off a quarter million refrigerators and said they can save hundreds a year just by replacing old refrigerators and freezers with new energy efficient models. the clunkers end up here in this recycling plant. all the glass and rubber parts get removed, coolant drained, and the boxes end up getting pulverized in a giant crusher and sold as scrap metal. >> from a policy perspective, the most important thing our country should be doing is helping consumers reduce waste and lower their bills.

a program like this makes sense from a societal standpoint, and from an individual consumer standpoint. >> last year, this program is estimated to have reduced gene house gas emissions as much as removing 8,000 cars from the road. programs like this have kept utilities from needing to build new plants, which is good for the environment and for consumers who get a little extra cash in their pockets. >> it all adds up in the end. believe me, it all adds up in the end. >> in constance, california, anita vogel, fox news. bret: president obama will get a chance to talk about his cash for clunkers program and other economic initiatives during a visit tuesday to new hampshire, a state that went for hillary clinton in the primary last year, and that was in his column in the general election. correspondent molly line has a preview. >> tomorrow, these seaside community of portsmouth will host president obama's first trip to the gan its state since his election, his first visit since the campaign. this time mr. obama will not

be vying for votes, instead, looking to persuade the politically savvy constituents that the economic picture is not so bleak and his healthcare reform plans won't bake the bank. business week recently named portsmouth the best place in the state to open a new business. among the city's newest entrepreneurs, whitney swatfield and her partner, samantha fin gan. friday ne open add boutique stationery shop in the downtown. >> we were eals to get a good deal on our rent because of the economy. >> despite the economic climate, they're optimistic >> there is only one mace to go from here, up, as far as i'm concerned. >> the chamber of commerce president says the city is fortunate in several ways. like the rest of the state, there is no sales tax and the coastal area draws a strong base of tourists. still, small business owners have come to the chamber with concerns, health insurance at the top of the list. >> with fewer than ten employees, it is hard for them

to to get anything nigh affordable. they have a difficult time offering it for their employees. >> although portsmouth employ ees are working more than the rest of the country's unemployment rate, portsmouth is insulated in one way. >> we're in a golden triangle that starts with boston and reaches over to new hampshire and extends up to portland. folks who live on the gator seacoast area can commute. awhile president obama is unlikely to face the raucous groups at similar forums across the country, town hall meetings are an institution in new hampshire, where independent-minded residents are rued to confronting their elected officials. molly line, fox news. bret: the republican chairman of the legislative committee investigating south carolina republican governor mark sanford's international travel said sanford broke the law when he charged taxpayers for

expensive flights. the associated press says sanford illegally used state aircraft for personal and political trips such as trips to see his children play sports, hair and dentist appointments, political party gatherings. the governor's office says he has used state planes only for official business. the top u.s. commander in afghanistan won't say the u.s. is winning or losing in afghanistan. we'll hear what the fox all-stars think when we come back. - ( electricity sparking ) - ( printing press starting up ) ( choral grunts )

- ( ringing ) - ( skidding car tires ) ( mechanicals from inside titanic engine room ) - ( record scratches ) - ( people scream ) ( train whistle blowing ) ( growing faster, louder, more horrifying ) ( screaming ) ( loud game whistle blows ) announcer: stop. time out. there is no more money. they spent it all. wasted on bailouts and pork. now they want trillions for healthcare? let's take a breath. fix our economy first. - but they just won't stop. - ( sound of printing press starting back up ) well, together we can make them stop. join millions signing our demand letter at trustcommonsense.com. sign today, before it's really too late. national republican trust pac is responsible for the content of this message. you're ready for the mid-morning rush thanks to a good breakfast.

one coffee with room, one large mocha latte. medium macchiato, light hot chocolate hold the whip, and two espressos. make one a double. she's fiber focused! i have two cappuccinos, one coffee with room, one large mocha latte, a medium macchiato, a light hot chocolate, hold the whip, and two espressos, one with a double shot. gonna take more than coffee to stay this focused. stay full and focused through the morning... with a breakfast of kellogg's® frosted mini-wheats® cereal; an excellent source of fiber that helps you avoid... the distraction of mid-morning hunger. no thanks, i'm good.

>> i don't think we should commit at this point to more troops for two reasons. number one, it takes nato allies off the hook from keeping their commitment, and number two, it keeps some of the pressure off the afghans themselves to help move that army much more quickly. >> my message to my democratic colleagues is that we made mistakes in iraq. let's not rumsfeld afghanistan.

let's not do this on the cheap. let's have enough combat power and engagement across the board to make sure we're successful. bret: two key senators this weekend about the situation in afghanistan as general stanley mcchrystal, the u.s. commander in afghanistan, is expected later this month to announce an increase of troop levels there, at least that is what he is expected to do as a number of articles have cited mcchrystal as saying that it is a bleak situation on the ground fighting the taliban and that the taliban is strong. one of those articles by the wall "the wall street journal", in fact, had a pushback on the pent gan and the white house saying that they are not lose together taliban. let's bring in our panel. steve hayes, senior writer for the weekly standard and mort kondracke with roll call and syndicated columnist charles krauthammer. steve, your thoughts, first of all on what mcchrystal is quoted as saying and the perception about what is going on on the ground. >> mccrystal was saying things do not look good in

afghanistan. that shouldn't be news to anybody who has been paying attention. he is preparing a report, a strategic assessment of the situation on the ground there. they have done what is called a troop to task resue or are finishing that right now which will tell the white house, presumably, how many people and the secretary of defense, how many soldiers are going to be needed to do the things they need to do to achieve the victory that president obama set out in his speech in late march. what's interesting is that the white house seems to have rolled out a new afghanistan plan over the weekend with general jones on the sunday shows. there was a big article in "politico" on saturday, so that puts the white house in front of general mcchrystal. i don't understand what the point of having your general, who you have hand picked and sent over to do the strategic assessment, what's the point of having him over there doing this if you're going to roll out a new plan before he even comes to you with his recommendations? it doesn't make much sense to me. >> when general jones was on

our air on "fox news sunday," he did not rule out additional troops. he was asked by chris wallace, are you rolling out more troops and he said no, he was not. that was contrary to what he had said before that the president would ask for more troops he would have a w.t.f. moment -- what the blank moment -- this is a family show! bret: right. >> so he peeled back from that. look, in addition to what mcchrystal said today, mcchrystal was signaling that he wants more troops and one of his advisors from the strategic center -- center for strategic and international studies, said that we may need between 3 and 9 more brig brigades, which is to say 15,000 to 20,000 more than the additional troops that the

president has supplied so everybody is sort of shadowboxing here as to what is going to come up. obama is going to have to make up his mind. bret: is there the political will to do this in this white house? >> there better be, because if obama backs off as having said that afghanistan was the good war, and that it was sital to american interests are to succeed there, and he's not willing to do what his commander wants him to do, then it looks like he is saying it is ok to lose. >> i think that is the key issue, where is the political will and does obama or the democrats have it? you talked about the good war, as the democrats see it. bagshram, who worked on the campaign in '04 wrote an interesting article in december of last year where he said that at the time the democrats raise the issue of afghanistan and made it into the right war and the good war

as a way to attack bush on iraq. in retrospect was not very wise. in other words, he is confessing in a way that the democrats never really purported that. it was simply a club in which to bash the station on the iraq war, and pretend that democrats aren't anti-war in general, just against the wrong war. now they are in power and they are trapped in a box as a result of that, pretending an opposition that afghanistan is the good war, the war you have to win, the sen tram war, and the war on terror, and obviously now not terribly interested in it but stuck. that's why obama has this dilema. he said explicitly on abc a few weeks ago that he wouldn't even use the word victory in

conjunction with afghanistan, and democrats in congress have said if you don't win this in one year, we're out of here. he can't win the war in a year. everybody knows that. >> there is no question that the left is going to be against this war, because they're against he every war, right, but obama has been very firm about this. it was not just the campaign push. >> do you believe it is a central war on terror? >> he has continued to say he has beefed up what we're doing in pakistan. the left doesn't like the idea we're using predator raids in pakistan, but he's continued to do it, successfully. >> >> he has said the war on terror doesn't even exist. >> president obama made a big speech in march which basically he took everything that charles said he said during the campaign, president obama said during the campaign and doubled down in effect. he said we need to win.

we need to refocus the aims of the war, more on eliminating al qaeda, specifically, but he also committed to sending more troops at that time, and spoke the kind of language that i think conservatives and supporters of the iraq war were hardened by. he said at one point, we will defeat you, so in this that sense, as late as march, he sort of drew another line around that box, and i think further boxes himself in, which makes the politics of this he is difficult for him. bret: and it all comes to a head when? this month? >> well, he has to make a decision on troop increases, and if he does, he has to have his heart in this. here is a president who has said he won't even use the word victory. why would you send troops to fight and die if you're not interested in victory? bret: are the people loudly voicing their concerns about healthcare reform unamerican? it appears some house democratic leaders think so. we'll talk about it with the panel, next.

90s slacker hip-. ♪ singer: buckle up, everybody 'cause we're taking a ride ♪ ♪ that can strain your relationships and hurt your pride ♪ ♪ it's the credit roller aster ♪ ♪ and as you can see it kinda bites! ♪ ♪ so sing the lyrics with me: ♪ when your debt goes up your score goes down ♪ ♪ when you pay a little off it goes the other way 'round ♪ ♪ it's just the same for everybody, every boy and girl ♪ ♪ the credit roller coaster makes you wanna hurl ♪ ♪ so throw your hands in the air, and wave 'em around ♪ ♪ like a wanna-be frat boy trying to get down ♪ ♪ then bring 'em right back to where your laptop's at... ♪ ♪ log on to free credit report dot com - stat! ♪ vo: free credit score and report with enrollment in triple advantage.

to demonize citizens who are renner jettic about this strikes me as demonstrating a kind of weakness in your position. in other words, you want to change the sundt and rather talk about the half a trillion dollars in medicare cuts, let's talk about somebody in a town hall meeting that misbehaved. that's missing the point. >> there is so much information out there. there is a lot of misinformation that people have taken and i understand the fear of the unknown is a powerful thing. bret: well, the town halls have been a constant topic of discussion here in washington and around the country about healthcare, and today in "u.s.a. today" the house peeker and house majority leader wrote an op ed in which they said "these disruptions are occurring because the

opponents are afraid of differing views and the facts themselves, drowning out opposing views is simply unamerican. drowning out the facts is how we failed at this task for decades. " back with the panel. mort, what do you think about this? >> nancy pelosi has backed off from what she said previously. she was accusing the people that were demonstrating as being nazis an waiving swastikas and stuff like that^ . now it is merely unamerican. look, it was bad form for the code pink ladies to disrupt congressional hearings and raise a racket, i guess, against the iraq war. it is just as much hooliganism to have these right wingers, or whoever they are, are barging into these meetings and preventing a reasonable discussion, and i'm amazed at how chicken the republican leadership is about saying, look, you guys, calm down, ask tough probing questions of these congressmen, embarrass

them if you like, but don't shut the place down. bret: senator mcconnell said as much on "fox news sunday" this weekend. >> he mentioned everyone should be civil. these people have a right to speak and the rest of it. i think the leadership is afraid of rush limbaugh, apparently, because he is encouraging all this stuff. >> the democrats are pulling a rabbit out of a hat, and the republicans are handing the democrats their rabbit. the democrats have no argument. they have no fathers. they -- they have no facts. they don't really have a bill. if people were really just to stand up quietly and civilly raise questions, the money doesn't add up, the c.b.o. has said that you say it is going to control costs but it increases it by a trillion dollars. all of this stuff, it's really out there. they would be winning these debates as they were before the town halls. what is happening is this is causing a backlash. it is completely unnecessary. it is shooting yourself in the

foot. if you want to demonstrate, you want to shout, do you it outside carrying a sign. when you walk inside, you ask a question, is this going to have two effects? one, a public opinion will make people unsympathetic to those who oppose the bill, and secondly, it is going to give a great excuse for the democrats when congress returns to push a partisan bill with no republican support and say it's because the opposition is not -- is simply oppositionist without any arguments and acting in an irresponsible way. this is a disaster and it shouldn't be happening. bret: there is a lot of coverage of the folks that are concerned about healthcare, raising their voices, et cetera, but there isn't coverage of these other organizations on the other side. healthcare for america now is a national grassroots campaign, more than 1,000 organizations, 46 states, according to its website, representing 30 million people. they have a detailed playbook

thwarting town hall protestors. it is both sides on this thing. >> this is a massive campaign. both sides are trying to win the p.r. war and i think charles isite that democrats have won the last week because they have managed to change the subject. what i think is important, though, is that that doesn't change the overall politics of this. i think the damage was done over the course of several weeks when people were exposed to the arguments and the actual plans. they became more and more skeptical of the kinds of reforms that the president and congress are talking about. it certainly may help the white house spin a partisan victory on healthcare if that's in fact, what they get. it doesn't, i don't think, change the underlying dynamic that a lot of people are skeptical of this level of government involved in medical decisions. bret: that's it for the panel. stay tuned to see how some companies have completely add justed to the new economic times.

.

quality and reliability... are more than words here. it's personal. i have diabetes. rodney's kid too. so we're so proud to manufacture... the accu-chek® aviva meters and test strips... here in the u.s.a. plus, we've proven you'll waste 50% fewer strips... when you use our meter, which means greater savings... for people with diabetes, like me. now that's a true american value. accu-chek® aviva. born in the u.s.a.

bret: finally tonight, many economists say there are signs that the country is slowly coming out of a recession, but many companies have already cut jobs and cut back to improve the bolg bottom line and it appears one popular tourist attraction may be changing a bit. >> maybe you have heard we are experiencing some temporary financial setbacks. but we still think there has never been a better time to celebrate the magic of disney land. let your imagination run wild at some of our newest rides and attractions. cyclone canyon. a rip roaring ride you will never forget. and after a long day of fun, cool off at hose mountain. our wet and wild water park. plus, all summer long children under 7 receive free ketchup. disney land, come on, just use your imagination. bret: that's it